


Next Destination

by JudeStarkeyMcCartney



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Fluff, Las Vegas, Run Away, mafia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 11:14:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13145502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JudeStarkeyMcCartney/pseuds/JudeStarkeyMcCartney
Summary: Sweet dreams are made of this, until the reality of working for the mob in Las Vegas hits a little too hard.This Christmas, Yuya Sakaki has a different type of gift in mind for his best friend and dueling partner Yuzu Hiragi.But it could cost a little more than bargained for...





	Next Destination

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dreamymilkshake.tumblr.com](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=dreamymilkshake.tumblr.com).



> This fic is dedicated to dreamy-milkshake for the ygosecretsanta2017! I hope you enjoy it! Merry Christmas!

Christmas in Las Vegas is always a little…strange.

The city is adorned in eccentric lights 24/7, 365 days a year.

But it’s a bit different in December. The electric colors switch to green and red. Businesses scatter a few fake trees around their shops as an excuse to boost the prices. Fake snow glistens on the rooftops as songs about warm fires and chestnuts ooze from street windows of people who have never embraced a harsh winter. People tuck their pink flamingos into their garages and pull out their cheap snowmen that they hustled from the nearest home improvement store.

I could think of a more enchanting place to spend Christmas, but Vegas will have to do.

“Yuuuuuuuyaaaa!!!!!”

I guess it just kinda feels….artificial?

_*Knock knock KNOCK*_

“YUUUUYAAAAAAA!”

“I’m coming I’m coming!” I smile softly, letting my eyes linger on the overwhelming view of the Vegas strip.

“Hurry up, then! Geez, it’s not like you to be late for your own show,” a sweet voice calls from the other side of the hotel suite door.

“I’m not late. Just because you’re in show bizz doesn’t mean you have to exaggerate every little thing, you know,” I roll my eyes in amusement as I stride towards the door.

“Don’t you dare sass me, boy!”

I slowly open the door, smiling as I see my best friend in sight.

Before I even get a chance to speak, Yuzu ruffles her hand through my hair aggressively, letting out a sinister laugh.

“Hey! Quit it!” I squatted, attempting to dodge her hold. “It takes a while to comb it right! Now we’ll be even _later!_ ”

“Yeah yeah, we’ll be fine,” she smirked, pushing the door open for her to walk through.

She swayed her hips confidently, leaving her luxurious magenta dress to dance along to her movements. A satin white belt clung to her waste, giving her outfit a classy yet simple look.

“You look amazing,” I softly reveal.

“As do you,” she curtseyed with a smile. “I always thought you looked special in a suit,” she winked.

I looked down at myself to try and understand what she was referencing. It was just a black suit with a red tie and white under shirt, but I guess it was a step up from my school uniform she used to always see me in.

“Thanks,” I shrug.

Yuzu gets up on to the couch arm rest, crosses her legs and turns to look outside of the massive glass window. “The show is in an hour. Why don’t you go comb your hair and we can talk about where to go after the show?”

I try to suppress a sigh at the sound. “You really want to go out after?”

She shrugs, keeping her eyes on the view. “For dinner or something. Nothing crazy.”

I bite my tongue as I head towards the bathroom to re-comb my hair.

 

It’s always like this nowadays.

Yuzu and I were hired as tag team dueling partners to represent Las Vegas two years ago. Dueling has always been a high end game, but it used to have originality in the way it was executed. Now it sort of feels like we’re a two member football team that occasionally travels across the country to compete, with home game’s nearly every other night.

It was exciting at first. Two best friends just out of high school representing a huge entertainment city in the states. In fact, I would have even called it a dream come true.

But it didn’t take long to find out that Vegas was just a city of trouble. And in order to survive, you need to either leave all together or join the madness.

So that’s what we did. We accepted some local mobsters’ terms to advertise their casinos at the duel arenas, and in exchange, they’d pay us some big bucks under the table. At first, I didn’t even consider the offer.

But after a little while, the money gets tight. Less people show up to the duels after having seen a couple. The duel advertisements die down and less competitors are interested in showing up to duel.

There was a moment where Vegas almost stripped their association with dueling all together.

Yuzu and I, we could have left…but we didn’t have anywhere to go. Friends were nearly done with university and other’s already had stable jobs. All we had was a high school education and a busted dueling reputation. Where would that leave us?

So I ran back to the big guys, head bowed and hands clasped in begging fashion. “Please forgive me! I need your help! Please! Please advertise your customers to come to our duels! We promise to advertise your casino from here on out. We’ll do anything you ask of us. We just need to get kicked off the ground again, and we’ll never stop working for you, no matter how famous we get!”

It took a little while. Some hard begging and a few unsolicited favors. But it was nothing that I couldn’t handle. And long be hold….

Within a month of my begging, our crowds went from 200 people to 20,000. We tossed out our thrift shop costumes and bought high end luxury material.

We were the people to be.

But now….now,

We’re stuck. And we don’t know how to get out.

 

()()()()()()()()()()

 

“How about the Venetian?” Yuzu cooed, swinging her arm that’s linked with mine as we strut down the hallway towards the duel arena.

“Nah, I’m sick of eating there.”

“Well, how about that cute little place outside of the city? We could hail a taxi and eat there?”

A few security guards bowed to us upon our entrance beneath the arena stage. I gave them a slight wave in acknowledgment, blowing my green bangs out of my hair.

“Yuuuuzuuu,” I draw out her name.

“Oh! Or maybe that place Ruckers by the—“

I swing Yuzu to face me, grabbing her hands all the while. “Tonight I want to do something crazy,” I whisper, gazing into her eyes. “Do you trust me? Will you follow my lead?”

Yuzu’s eyes widen in surprise, worry prominent on her face. “Yuya?”

“Places you two!” A stage crew member calls.

I squeeze her hands a little tighter. “This Christmas, I want to give us something extra special. If you feel even the slightest way I do…if you understand what I’m trying to say….please follow my lead tonight.”

She doesn’t respond. She slightly nods her head, staying transfixed at the expression on my face. I drop her hands and walk backwards to my uplift.

The screams of the crowd grow unbearably loud as the stage opens up for us.

“Good luck you two! Make tonight’s better than the last and prepare to raise the bar tomorrow!”

They always say that. Every night. They’re so stuck in routine that they can’t picture a single thing ever going out of order.

But soon that might change.

The uplifts nudge slightly as they begin to rise. Yuzu and I hold a deep gaze until the moment my head hits the stage floor.

At that moment, I take my deepest breath, raise my hands in the air and clear my throat a certain way so they know to turn on my mic.

My thoughts drown out in the screams of the crowd.

“ ** _Ladies and gentlemen_**!”

 

()()()()()()()()()

 

“Yuzu, keep running!”

“Where are we going?!” She hollers, though short of breath.

I clench her wrist a little tighter, dragging her as I lead us in a sprint down the Vegas strip.

I couldn’t answer. There was no use in explaining now anyways. All that mattered was that I could sense that she felt the same way I did, and it was time for me to act upon it.

Eventually we ended up at the bus station. “Yuzu, wait here.”

“Yuya, what’s going on? Where are we going?”

“I’ll be right back,” I assure her, avoiding the question. I make my way to the ticket stand, glancing over at Yuzu while I waited in line.

I wasn’t sure where we were going, but the further away we could get, the better.

That was basically what I told the guy at the ticket stand too. He seemed to understand because he got us his tickets with ease. Maybe it happens here pretty often.

I jogged over to Yuzu, handing her a ticket. “Let’s go.”

“Yuya, you have to tell me what’s going on,” she tells me, a fierce look in her eye. “I can’t accept this unless you tell me. I deserve to know.”

“Please Yuzu, just do this for me…”

“You’re scaring me, Yuya. What are we doing? Getting out of the city for Christmas? Running away? What’s going on here?”

“Hey, you’re holding up the line!” A guy shouts from behind us.

I roll my eyes in annoyance at the feisty people and pull Yuzu out of line to talk to her in private.

“You said you’d follow my lead. If I know you like I think I do, just accept what I’m doing for us and come with me,” I explain.

Yuzu sighs, keeping her eyes sharp. “You know I trust you, Yuya. But I don’t get the feeling we’re just going for a night adventure here. This is a serious thing you’re about to do and I deserve to know what’s going on before I just jump with you on your mystery tour bus!”

I took a deep breath in loss. “Fine, I’ll tell you.” I look down at the ground for a second. She’s a tough one, that Yuzu. But I guess I already knew that. “You can’t possibly tell me you can stand another day in this place, can you?”

Yuzu’s eyes widened at the sound, blinking softly at the words.

“I can’t do this anymore, Yuzu. I can’t pretend like I enjoy this anymore,” I slowly raise my head to meet her eye to eye. “I love dueling with you, really. But…but what we’re doing here is wrong. And the guilt is starting to eat me alive.”

“Yuya…”

“They make us do some pretty awful things to keep up our end of the bargain. And it’s just not worth it to me. We’re caged up in our hotel rooms day after day….every time we even have the chance to go out all we see for people are prostitutes, drunkards and high gamblers. Our audiences are high rollers who get discounts if they stay at the hotels _the guys_ owns. There’s no love, no sincerity in anything we do anymore. I used to love dueling because I loved making people happy…but these people aren’t like that. They make bets on us and use our matches as an excuse to get drunk and angry. It pains me to live this life.”

Yuzu shivers noticeably at my words, eyes widening by the second.

“And even during Christmas we can’t catch a break! I mean…I just can’t take it anymore! It’s not worth the stained money. I want to be with the people I love…not here. Not here supporting murderers and thieves. I can’t do it. I really can’t.”

I reach out to grab Yuzu’s hands. “Please, leave with me.”

“You want to run away…for good?”

“Yes, please!”

“But…what about all our stuff? What about _the guys?_ ”

“We have to leave it. If we took our stuff _the guys_ would know something was up. It is their hotel after all. Our lives would be on the line.”

Yuzu nodded in understanding, lowering her head in thought.

“Are you guys getting on or not?” The ticket collector called from outside of the bus.

“Yuzu?” I pleaded.

She lifted her head, a sad smile on her face. “Okay, Yuya. Let’s go.”

 

()()()()()()()()()()()()

 

_“Nothing thrills me more than seeing you on your knees, begging for my intervention.”_

_Yuya lowered his head in embarrassment, keeping his hands clenched together. “Please,” he pled._

_At that point in time, there was simply no other way to get around the deal. He had no money for transportation. No impressive resume or experience to get him a job or to save him from that very position was in. Their reputation was so beat that even professional dueling was out of the question. If he wanted to save Yuzu, he would have to throw his beliefs out the window._

_“Alright, Sakaki,” Mr. Vitali nodded. “I’m willing to re extend my deal to you, but there will be some repercussions.”_

_“I’ll do anything!”_

_“Glad to hear it, Sakaki,” Mr. Vitali grinned. “My men and I will fully sponsor your duels from here on out. You can even stay at any one of our hotels at our expense. Your meals are covered and you will be paid according to your audience turn out.”_

_Mr. Vitali paced around the room, twiddling with his fingers as he dwelled on his offer. “For the next few weeks, we will advertise for people to go to your duels. Offer them discounts…whatever we need to do to get your duels noticed again. As we do this, you will advertise our hotels, merchandise, and casinos before every duel, during intermission and after each duel turn out. You see, what we are trying to do here, Sakaki, is encourage bets on your duels. We want to turn these into an opportunity for our customers to bid on the winner. Customers can bid on a winner, how many life points the winner will have, how large the winning gap will be, if there will be a comeback victory….they will have the chance to bid on a variety of things. This will increase our income and yours, so you must be enthusiastic about this.”_

_Yuya suppressed the disgusted feeling he got when he heard of this. He had no other choice but to nod._

_“You see, Sakaki, that’s why your duels were failing before. There was no thrill factor for the audience. Why should they care if you win? Most of them aren’t from around here. They aren’t true Vegas supporters or any of that. They want money in any form possible. And so do we. So we will create that opening for them. Understood?”_

_“Yes sir.”_

_“Wonderful. But since you’ve already denied this offer, you will have to do me a few favors as a way to show that you’re sorry.”_

_Yuya gulped in worry. “Understood.”_

_“First and foremost, you must understand that any disobedience to me and my men results in an automatic punishment to you and your friend. Punishment may range from being thrown out of your rooms, no pay, or a beating. If I ask an errand of you, you will fulfil it with a smile on your face. You are not allowed to leave your hotel unless you ask for permission. We will limit your travel duels and add more home duels. And most importantly…”_

_Yuya raised his head, looking Mr. Vitali in the end._

_“You are not allowed to break this contract. Any form of breaking this contract without my consent will result in the loss of your life.”_

_Yuya bit his bottom lip, cringing at that little detail…_

_“You are mine now, Sakaki. And mine you will stay.”_

_()()()()()()()()()()()()_

“Yuya, are you okay?”

I open my eyes and turn to look at her, forcing my best smile. “Yeah.”

“You’re thinking about them, aren’t you? _The guys_?”

“Yeah,” I exhale, turning to look out towards the window. The sky in the desert is a never ending sheet of dark blue, with twinkling stars in the midst. Darkness may linger within it, but the star’s shine bring a definite sign of hope. “It’s hard to not think about them in a time like this.”

“We’ll be okay,” she assures, placing a hand on my shoulder. “It’ll be impossible for them to find us.”

“I hope so,” I mumble. “It just scares me a bit. I can’t stop thinking about what they’ll do when they realize we’re gone.”

Yuzu was spared the details about being killed for breaking the contract or high punishments for any disobedience. All I ever told her about that meeting was that if they ask anything of you, let me know, and with my approval, do it. She’s been asked to do a few favors specifically on her own, but none of them ever put her in danger or were vile acts. For the most part, _the guys_ were pretty respectful about their favors and tasks. But living in fear is no life, either.

“Yuya?”

“Hm?”

I look over to Yuzu, who is smiling so sincerely at me. “I trust you. I always have and I always will. And I trust that the decision you made will lead us to bigger and better things.”

My eyes widened at her genuine words.

“You were right. I never liked what we were doing. It made me feel all dirty, supporting all these sick people and their games. But when we were stuck back then, we had no money to get us out. It was a tough decision, so we did what we had to do. But at least now we have the funds to get us out of that toxic situation. Even if they look for us, they won’t find us. It’s a big world, and I’m sure we can get away with a disguise. We can find our way back to Japan. We’ll be safe there.”

“Yeah,” I nod, feeling a bit better now that Yuzu was comforting me.

“No matter where we go, or what we come up against, we will always have each other. And as long as we’re together, we’re unstoppable.”

I smile, “Yeah!”

“We have everything to gain now that we’re out of that place,” Yuzu turned her head, speaking to me but to herself as well. “And with Christmas only an hour away, I have a feeling that the world is giving us the gift of freedom and a fresh beginning. Don’t you think?”

I shiver from the warm, happy feeling that creeps its way into my heart. “Definitely.”

“But this isn’t just a gift from the world, this is a gift from you too. So thank you. You saw through me, despite how strong I acted so you wouldn’t feel bad for me because of the situation we were in.”

“You’re my best friend, Yuzu. I know everything there is to know about you. And for Christmas, I just knew you deserved better.”

“We both do,” she assured. “Merry Christmas, Yuya. Cheers to freedom. To a new life.” She raised her hand, as if to give me a high five.

I raised my hand to meet hers, high fived her, and then tangled my fingers in between hers, gazing deep into her crystal blue eyes. “Merry Christmas, Yuzu.”

And with that, we sat comfortably in a silent night. Next destination: Freedom.


End file.
